Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale

Bonus points for high alc. Also very smooth. I enjoyed this brew and Founders is proving to be a great brewery

I like old ale style but lack of carbonation really limits this brew. Also it is a touch too sweet. I expected moe from Founders

Opaque tan-orange with a moderate white head. Nose has sweet vanilla and bourbon, but also a very odd creamy scent: earthy, clean, almost like mud after a rain or orange without any of the citric bite. Flavor is very similar, almost exact in fact, except even more passive. Watery palate, finish is moderate in bourbon. Overall unique but rather bland, I cannot understand what the intent was here, just really odd.

Bottle: Pours a hazy amber/copper with a dense light tan, thin head. Big aroma- vanilla sweetness is there with some dark fruit notes of plum, fig, sherry, maple, and a mild booziness. Big bodied, but never cloying. Chewy, big malt presence in the flavor. Plum, honey, dates, bitter dark fruit skins, spicy ethanol notes, but it is smooth in its booziness- almost rummy. The finish has residual toasted malt qualities along with a long resiny hop presence to dry out the initial big malt body. Despite its high gravity, it remains drinkable. This solid Old Ale may improve with time.

12 oz. Cloudy copper with some small particulate matter. Small disc of foam persists and leaves a few spots of soapy lace. Mild aromas of spicy caramel apple. Tastes of dark-roasted nut, spiced apples, light cocoa, whiskey and oak. Normally this is a blend of flavors I would rave over, but the twangy apple flavor in this one misses the mark a bit for me. Near-medium body is lightly tingly and dryish.

Thanks Turdferguson. Cool looking beer that has the appearance of apple cider. It is opaque with some visible solids. Nose is faint but is yeast and spices that remind of Chrismas fragrances. Alcohol is a dominant theme in the flavor and this one is complex in old style way. Dark fruit, pepper spice, candi sugar, yeast, and attitude. There is just so much going on in there and drinking it puts me in an old Europe seaside pub. What a good and well crafted beer. Another winner from Founders.

I’m a sucker for old ales. I had backwoods bastard last night and this one has the bourbon tones but they are more subdued to allow for a complex mix of raisins, ginger, chocolate malts, vanilla, tangerine and mahogany. The alcohol somewhat diminishes the flavors but old ales should have some kick. The other factor is the hop quotient which adds a bitterness I don’t associate with this malty style.

Overall good beer strong notes of vanilla and oak notes, alcohol note is slightly too strong